Toy scooter



Apr. 3, 1923.

1,450,342 E. M. WALKER TOY SCOOTER Filed Aug. 5, 1921 Fa g.l. 12

EDWARD M WALKER.

Patented Apr. 3, 1923.

UNITED STATES EDWARD -M. WALKER, or :nn'rnorr, MICHIGAN.

ea sooo'rnn.

Application filed August 5, 1921. Serial No. 489,945.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD M. LWALKER, a citizen ofthe United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the'coun'ty of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Scooters, of whichthe following is a specifileaning to one sideor the other, it being only necessary to cant or slightly tilt the body of the vehicle to turn the axles thereof for movement in a desired direction.

Another object of this invention is to provide a coasting vehicle which is b11111) to withstand rough usage and'reduce to a m mmum'thetprobability of 'the coasting vehlcle tilting or upsetting and injuring a chlld using the same. a

A further object of this invention s to provide a body for a coasting vehicle which body is underslung so that constant jumping off and on of the body willnot cause the same to sag or break because of the stresses and strains to which it is: subjected. The body is also in proximity tothe ground permittin of a long step or limb action being use for speed.

A still further object of my invention 18 to provide a four wheel toy scooter which is susceptible to any desired finish and is adapted to afford considerable amusement to juveniles besides providing exercise and teaching the principles of balancing the body for guiding purposes.

The above and other objects are attained by a vehicle construction that will be hereinafter described and then claimed, and reference will now be had, to the drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a plan of the coasting vehicle, partly in horizontal section;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, partly in section;

' Fig. Bis a sideelevation ofthe coasting vehicle, section,

Fig. 4 is a detail view of a modified form off-axle that may be embodied in a-coasting vehicle. i

The body of the'vehicle comprises parallel longitudinally disposed frames 1 and rigidly mounted between the front and rear ends of said fram'es preferably'by bolts or tie rods 2'an'd nuts'3 are the lower'endsoffront-and rear posts or'uprights 4 and-'drespectively. The uprightsl and 5 are disposed at a'right angle to the body fra'mewith the uprights: of greaterheightthan the upright 5, and at the upper end of-the upright 4c is atra'ns verse handle bar'6 which permitsof a child holding on-to'the upright when riding on the vehicle.

"Connecting the 'uprightsdvand 5 tothe body framel are 'angularly disposedbraces 7 and '8, said braces havingthe lowerends thereof "reduced to provide tongues 91 *extendingbetween the body frames 1 and'connected thereto by bolts'lOYandnuts 11 or other fastening means. -The upper ends of thebraces'? and 8 are notched'or slotted, as at 12ito receive the uprights l'and .5iand bolts 13 and nuts '14: or-similar-fastening means are employed for connecting the braces? 'and'S to the uprights. 'The braces are the same width as the body and by resting'onthe body'frames 1 the uprights f4. and 5 are firmly braced and maintained' in'vertical, 'positionsmel'ative to the b'ody frames.

. each end of the vehicle "bodyis 'a running gear composed of an axle 15 'havin" reduced ends or spindles 16 provided wit rotatable wheels 17. These wheels may be of any conventional form according to the grade of coasting vehicle. For instance, in a cheap form of the vehicle the wheels may be made from solid blocks of hard wood, and in better forms of the vehicle the wheels may be of the artillery type or wire wheels provided with resilient tires.

Each axle 15, intermediate its ends, has a fixed bolster or enlargement 18 provided with hearing faces 19 and trunnions 20. The bearing faces 19 are adapted to engage opposed bolster members or bearing blocks 21 into which the trunnions 20 extend parallel to the braces 7 and 8, and said bearing blocks are triangular in end elevation and are adapted to be mounted between the body frames 1,.

partly broken away? and partly in I the uprights 4 and 5 and the braces 7 and S. The bearing blocks 21 correspond in width to the braces 7 and 8 and by virtue of the configuration of the bolsters l8 and the trunnions being disposed at an angle to the frames or the direction of travel, the vehicle body may be laterally tilted in one direction or the other causing horizontal movement of the axles for steering and balancing.

On the body frames 1, between the lower ends of the braces 7 and 8, is a foot board or support 22 which may be suitably secured to the body frames. It is on this foot board that a child may stand and hold on to the handle bar 6 when coasting and by leaning from one side to the other the vehicle body may be tilted to shift the axles 15 and cause the vehicle to pass around a corner or move in a desired direction. The steering becomes more or less automatic or a subconscious action of the rider, and a child may use either foot on the pavement or ground to propel the vehicle. When coasting on a grade a child may sit on the footboard with the back towards the brace 8 and the feet towards the brace 7 and by properly balancing the body guide the vehicle in a desired direction. This is especially true when the vehicle is i made of a sufficient width to permit of the child sitting on the foot'board, but as a toy for scooting purposes the vehicle body is comparatively narrow, yet not so narrow as to cause side tilting as a child shifts the body for steering purposes.

As shown in Fig. 4, an axle 23 may have a king bolt or trunnion 2% extending transversely thereof and such construction may be used in lieu of the axle bolsters and trunnions shown in Fig. 3.

It is thought that the manner of using the vehicle will be apparent without further description, and while in the drawing there are illustrated the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that the structural elements are susceptible to such changes in size, shape and manner of assemblage, as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is l. A. coasting vehicle comprising a running gear including front and rear axles, a body, uprights at the ends of said body with one of said uprights in front of the front axle and the other upright in the rear of the rear axle, and braces connecting said uprights to said body.

2. A coasting vehicle comprising a body, uprights at the ends of said body, braces connecting said uprights to said body, bearing blocks mounted between said body, uprights and braces, axles trunnioned between said.

bearing blocks, and wheels on the ends of said axles.

3. A coasting vehicle as in claim 2, further characterized by a footboard on said body between said braces.

l. A coaster comprising body frames, uprights between the ends of said frames, braces having tongues fitting between said body frames and slots to receive said uprights, triangular bearing blocks set between said frames, uprights and braces, axles trunnioned between said bearing blocks, Wheels on said axles, and a footboard on said body frames between said braces.

5. In a four wheel vehicle which may be steered by movement of a body on the vehicle; axles for the wheels of such vehicle, frames suspended below the axles and having ends extending under the axles and adapted for supporting the body, trunnions for the axles supported from the frames and disposed at an angle to the direction of travel, and uprights at the ends of said frame providing means for retaining said trunnions in place.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD M. WALKER.

Witnesses:

ANNA M. Donn, KARL H. BUTLER. 

